How a mother of two who ‘ate her emotions’ lost over 120 pounds in less than a year

A mother-of-two who ate her emotions has revealed how she changed her life, losing 123 pounds in just 11 months.

Ashley Zablocki, 28, said an interaction with her son over a block of chocolate made her question her relationship with food.

Zablocki said she has always had a “terrible relationship” with food, her body and her mental health. She said that starting at age 18, when she had more freedom to buy her own food — and on top of that she had her first child — things got progressively worse.

“I was eating at least one bar of chocolate. I was snacking all day, eating anything the kids didn’t want, and because I didn’t eat breakfast or lunch, I was eating a huge portion at dinner,” Zablocki told news.com.au.

She said that sometimes, if her family had takeout at McDonald’s, she and her husband would share a family meal.

“I used food to cope with my emotions,” she said, adding that she would be lucky if she walked 1,000 steps a day and did no exercise.

“Having children was almost an excuse for me: ‘I’m a busy mom, I don’t have time to do this.’”

The Victorian woman said the heaviest she had ever weighed was 121kg (about 267lbs), but looking at the photos she assumed she was “much heavier” than that.

However, its breaking point came when Cadbury released a new block of caramel slices.

“I loved it. I bought it in a store and my son took it from me and broke it in half,” she said.

“I was so angry because the block wasn’t perfect for me to eat anymore. I realized that my relationship with food wasn’t good. I went home, looked in the mirror and thought about how I felt. I thought, ‘I can’t do this anymore.’”

Zablocki’s father died of cancer at the age of 57. Her mother had heart problems her entire life, and during her two pregnancies, the young mother suffered from gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, which nearly ended her life and that of her daughter. All of this came to mind and she knew something had to change.

She thought about it for a week, then told her husband that she wanted to start walking, but was afraid to walk outside because of her fitness level. Instead, she bought a cheap treadmill on Facebook Marketplace.

“I started walking. I could only walk 10 minutes at a time and I did it every day,” she said.

“I then realized that I had to change my diet, that no amount of exercise would improve my weight if I didn’t eat better.”

She began gradually reducing her portion sizes, eating three meals a day instead of snacks and one large meal, drinking sugar-free sodas, and drinking more water.

Zablocki also started intermittent fasting. But she couldn’t give up her favorite food: dessert.

“I had been doing this for about three weeks, I weighed myself and lost three kilos. I thought, ‘I can do this,'” she said.

“I started noticing when I could walk five minutes longer.”

A friend suggested she try 28 by Sam Wood’s dance classes on the fitness app, and so she gave it a try. At first, she could only do it for five minutes before feeling exhausted. She says she now does it every day, in addition to running a few times a week, because she enjoys it so much.

In just 11 months, Zablocki lost about 56 kilos and now weighs 65 kilos.

“I feel so good. I feel so much better mentally and physically. I can get out of bed and my body doesn’t hurt anymore,” she said, adding that before she began her weight loss journey, she started seeing a psychologist to process her emotional triggers and find ways to deal with them that weren’t food-related. She also found ways to address her body confidence issues.

“I went to a play centre with my children and then we went to another centre where we usually go,” she said.

“I said to my husband, ‘That slide looks really fun. It’s huge.’ I went up to the playground and went down the slide with my daughter.

“It was the best feeling possible.”

Today, in addition to running and dancing, Zablocki takes up weight training because she wants to get stronger. She says she hasn’t given up her love of food, but she enjoys her favorite dishes with a healthier twist.